Introduction: Gluten and Dairy Free Flatbread

About: I am a human being. At least I'm pretty sure of that...

   This is a delicious flat bread that is free of most allergens. They are very good with almost any topping, and much softer than most gluten free breads. the texture is a bit dense, and they are sort of flakey. 

          I made this recipe for my Mom, who is allergic to most kinds of food, so whatever you are allergic to, you should be able to eat these. Even if you have no food allergies, they are still a tasty and healthy alternative to bread.


To make six flat breads you will need :
-1 cup water

-2 1/2 cups Garbanzo bean flour*

-3/4 cup Tapioca starch**

-oil for cooking and brushing on

-Salt


*Garbanzo bean, or Chickpea flour can be bought from most large grocery stores and health food stores, or you can make your own by grinding chickpeas in a coffee grinder or food processor.

**You can use a different starch if you do not have Tapioca, but the texture will be very different, and the bread may become crumbly.

Step 1: Combine the Ingredients

Mix all the dry ingredients except the salt, then add half the water.  Stir it with chopsticks, if you have them. This is to help make it light and flakey. Wait a few minutes, and then add the rest of the water.

If it is too sticky, add more garbanzo bean flour. It should be just a little sticky, and a little softer than playdough.   If you are using a different starch, the texture will probably be different. When I made them with Arrowroot starch, they were fluffier, and also more crumbly.

Step 2: Rolling and Squishing

This step is a bit tedious, and you can skip it if you like, but it is what makes the flatbreads flakey.

Before you start, get a little bowl of salt, a bowl of oil and a brush, and some starch for the counter.

Dust the counter and your rolling pin with Tapioca starch and pinch off about a sixth of the dough. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick, then brush it with oil and sprinkle it with a little salt.

Now roll it up like a taco, and then like a snail. It should be a ball the same size as you started with. Put some more starch on the counter and roll it to 1/4 inch again. put it on a sheet of plastic wrap, then do the rest of them the same.

Step 3: Cooking

Pour about 1/8 inch of oil into a pan and heat it up. Then carefuly place a flat bread in the oil. cook it for a few minutes, then very carefully turn it over. Tongs work best for this.

It will be slightly dark golden when it is done. Be very, very careful not to burn it, because it smells terrible when burned.

If you doubled the recipie, you should change or strain the oil in the middle, because other wise the burned starch starts to make the bread taste bad.

Put the finished flatbreads on a paper towel to drain the oil off.

Eat it with whatever topping you like while it is still warm, and you can put the leftovers in the fridge.

The leftovers can be tosted or microwaved.

Step 4: Toppings

The topping in the picture is ground lamb, onions and swiss chard.

Another good topping is lamb, coconut yogurt, onions and tamarind paste.

you can also use them for sandwiches or tostados, they go quite good with any savory food, but not with sweet things, and they taste a bit beany by themselves.

I hope you enjoy this recipie!